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For SpaceNut re #50
Thanks for showing us that image!
I was unaware of the changes that are happening in that part of the world.
If someone is looking for a supply of heavy metals, that might be a good place to look. Nature is taking care of the mining.
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Today's Internet feed included a link to reports about research on water treatment.
In the US (and probably around the world), water for public use is treated to kill biological agents.
Chlorine was used at one point (and it may still be in some locations) but health consequences led to efforts to find an alternative.
The alternative has been in use for a number of years, but any possible health consequences were unknown, primarily because a way of testing was (I gather) unknown.
The article at the link below reports on recent developments:
https://www.nbcnews.com/science/science … rcna181052
This report should be of interest to Mars settlers, because water for human consumption will have to be treated. The incoming water will most likely not have carbon based contamination, but over time, and especially in larger communities, the same water treatment methods will be needed as are used on Earth, because pathogens will arrive with humans, animals and plants.
I note the post recently (in November of 2042) by Calliban, calling renewed attention to the challenge of settling Mars.
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The article at the link below is about a method of cleaning water on the Moon, but it should work on Mars as well.
https://interestingengineering.com/inno … oup=test_a
Purifying moon water: UK scientists’ ‘lunar microwave’ beats extreme conditions
There’s water beneath the moon’s frozen soil, but it’s full of dirt and toxic chemicals.Updated: Mar 29, 2025 08:33 AM EST
Photo of the Author Rupendra Brahambhatt
Rupendra Brahambhatta day ago
Purifying moon water: UK scientists’ ‘lunar microwave’ beats extreme conditions
The SonoChem device.
Max Alexander/Aqualunar Challenge
Back in 2018, ISRO’s Chandrayan-1 spacecraft confirmed the presence of water ice beneath the lunar surface, and then in 2023, NASA released a detailed, wide-area map revealing areas where water could be found on the moon.
Lunar water could be used to quench the thirst of astronauts, grow plants, and support various other activities essential for long-duration moon missions. However, just like we need to purify water on Earth before drinking, a purification system would also be necessary to make lunar water usable.
In January 2024, the UK Space Agency launched the Aqualunar challenge to promote the creation of lunar water purification technologies. A team of researchers from a tech and innovation company, Naicker Scientific, have won the challenge.
They developed a device called SonoChem. It is capable of extracting and purifying water from beneath the moon’s frozen soil. For this unique invention, the Aqualunar team awarded them a prize money of $194,000 (£150,000).
About “5.6 percent of the soil (known as ‘regolith’) around the moon’s south pole is estimated to be water frozen as ice. If it can be successfully extracted, separated from the soil, and purified, it makes a crewed base viable,” Meganne Christian, one of the judges of the Aqualunar challenge, said.
Purifying lunar water is challenging
Purifying lunar water is far more challenging than on Earth because it is trapped in frozen soil mixed with toxic dust and chemicals. Additionally, with no atmosphere, lunar water is exposed to intense radiation, which can change its composition.
This is not it. The moon’s low gravity conditions and extreme temperature swings can damage the purification systems and make conventional filtration methods ineffective. Energy is also scarce, so any purification method must be highly efficient and self-sustaining.
“Imagine digging up the soil in your back garden in the middle of winter and trying to extract frozen water to drink. Now imagine doing it in an environment that is -200°C, a nearly perfect vacuum, under low gravity, and with very little electrical power. That’s what we will have to overcome on the moon,” Lolan Naicker, technical director at Naicker Scientific, said.
Overall, an ideal lunar purification system must be compact, lightweight, and capable of working in a harsh, isolated environment with limited resources.
How does the SonoChem work?
SonoChem is inspired by the same microwave technology that you use in your kitchen to cook your meals. The process begins with pouring icy lunar soil into a big funnel. A drill inside pushes the soil through a glass tube that goes through a sideways microwave.
The microwave heats the soil, causing the water and various contaminants to vaporize, leaving the soil behind. However, since there’s almost no air on the moon, the gas skips being a liquid and turns into ice again.
The ice is exposed to ultrasound waves, which triggers the creation of millions of micro-bubbles in the contaminated water. There are extreme temperature and pressure conditions inside these bubbles. So when they burst, all the contaminants break down into simpler molecules and evaporate, leaving behind clean lunar water.
The Naicker team tested their device using artificial lunar soil based on sand. The results were promising, and they are hopeful that if they could make SonoChem work on the moon, it could also be used to purify water from Martian glaciers and even from places on Earth where conventional filtration methods fail.
Naicker Scientific will now focus on making SonoChem commercially viable. Simultaneously, they are also working on ways to convert the purified lunar water into rocket fuel.
However, SonoChem isn’t the only promising solution that emerged from the Aqualunar challenge. The competition was also conducted in Canada, where the winner, along with the runners-up in the UK, received funding to continue developing their designs.
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ABOUT THE EDITOR
Rupendra Brahambhatt Rupendra Brahambhatt is an experienced writer, researcher, journalist, and filmmaker. With a B.Sc (Hons.) in Science and PGJMC in Mass Communications, he has been actively working with some of the most innovative brands, news agencies, digital magazines, documentary filmmakers, and nonprofits from different parts of the globe. As an author, he works with a vision to bring forward the right information and encourage a constructive mindset among the masses.
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Last edited by tahanson43206 (2025-03-30 14:44:37)
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